Rookie Williams ready to play

Rookie Damian Williams made the trip to Seattle over the weekend, but the Titans held him out of the game. It sounds like that won’t be the case Monday when the Titans face the Cardinals at LP Field.

Damian Williams catches a kick. (George Walker IV / The Tennessean)

After practicing for more than a week since being taken off the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hamstring injury, Williams is ready to make his NFL debut.

“I am definitely ready to roll, excited to get a chance to play, contribute to the team,” said Williams, a third round draft pick. “Being that it’s Monday Night Football, that’s big. I’ve been watching that my whole life.”

Coach Jeff Fisher said “there would be no reason why (Williams) wouldn’t play” against Arizona. Williams feels like his hamstring is completely recovered, and he says he has stayed up to speed by taking mental reps.

He’s already growing tired hearing his buddies tease him about having “fresh legs,” though, since he missed the first part of training camp.

“You hear about it, the difference is though, now that everyone is starting to get their legs back, I am starting to go into camp leg mode,” Williams said. “But I’ll push through it.”

Williams is expected to handle kickoff and punt returns against the Cardinals. Rookie Marc Mariani and veteran Alvin Pearman handled those duties against Seattle. At USC, Williams returned 24 punts for a 14.2-yard average. He didn’t return kicks for the Trojans, however.

“If they are going to let me play, the plan is probably (for me to handle both),” Williams said. “We were fortunate to have really two really good kick returners at USC, but I feel I can do the job.”